Tuesday, April 22, 2003

Pecos girls hold lead, boys 9th at I-3A golf

The District 4-3A winners are also the Region I-3A leaders after the
opening 18 holes of play in Midland and Odessa on Tuesday, which was good
news for both the Pecos Eagles and the Monahans Loboes.

But the District 4-3A runners-up didn't fare as well during the first
18 holes of the 36-hole regional tournaments, which was also not-so-good
news for both Pecos and Monahans.

The Eagle girls, who went into regional play tied with Snyder for No.
1 seed, lived up to their ranking on Monday at Nueva Vista in Midland, firing
a 320 to take a five-stroke lead over Breckenridge going into the final
18 holes of play today.

However, Pecos' boys, who were seeded sixth in the tournament and were
hoping to move up at regionals, instead struggled in the first round at
Ratliff Ranch in Odessa, firing a 329 to put them 19 strokes in back of
first place Monahans and 17 strokes away from a shot at a berth in the Class
3A state tournament.

Lauren Martinez shot a 73 and Shelly Martinez also broke 80 with a 78
score to lead the Eagles to a 320 team total, five strokes ahead of Breckenridge
and six up on Snyder, the team tied for first with Pecos for No. 1 seed
going into regional play.

Both teams averaged 318 for their three-round district tournaments, while
Breckenridge came in with a 319 average and the tournament's No. 1-seeded
golfer, Camille Blackerby. She also holds the lead in the medallist race,
after an opening round of 71, while Lauren Martinez's 74 score puts her
in third place, one stroke behind Lauren Cheves of Bridgeport.

Shelly Martinez is in fifth place with her 78 score, while Brandi North
shot an 80 for the Eagles and is in a seventh place tie in the medallist
standings. Sarah McKinney shot an 88 and Dena Dutchover shot a 92 for Pecos'
other team scores.

The Eagles finished 75 strokes in front of Monahans at the 4-3A tournament,
but the Loboettes were still seeded fourth going into regional play. However,
Monahans shot a 346 on Monday and are currently fifth, with Abilene Wylie
in the No. 4 spot with a 341 total.

On the boys' side, Monahans shot a 310 to take a two-stroke lead over
Bridgeport after the first round of play, while Pecos shot a 329 and are
in ninth place in the 16-team tournament.

The Eagles had been hoping to improve on their district results, when
they finished 54-holes in back of the Loboes, but only sophomore Michael
Nichols could break the 80 barrier on Monday for the Eagles in Odessa.

Nichols shot a 79, while Pete Vasquez was one stroke behind with an 80
through the first 18 holes of play. Sal Nichols shot an 82 and both Jake
McKinney and Casey Brieten finished with 88s for the Eagles.

None of the Eagles are in the Top 10 in the medallist race.

Snyder is in third place in the boys' standings, four strokes behind
Monahans at 314, and are followed by Slaton at 319, Abilene Wylie at 322,
Canyon and Perryton at 323 and Graham with a 326 score.

Seminole was another area team that struggled in the opening round. The
Indians went into regional play seeded third but are tied with Muleshoe
for 10th place, two strokes behind the Eagles.

The top two teams in each tournament will advance to the Class 3A state
tournament on May 8-9 in Austin. The Eagles haven't sent a team to state
in 25 years, when the boys qualified for the Class 3A state finals. Pecos'
boys missed going to state by one stroke in 1985, and the Eagle girls place
fourth last April at the Region I-4A Tournament in San Angelo.

Eagles host Rangers in final home game

After knocking off the first place team in District 4-3A at home on Saturday,
the Pecos Eagles baseball team will try and knock off the first place team
in District 4-3A at home tonight, and in the process move closer to their
own spot in the Class 3A playoffs.

The Eagles, who've gotten back to the .500 mark after an 1-4 start in
district, host Midland Greenwood in their final regular season home game,
at 7 p.m. tonight at Eagle Field. The Rangers are 6-2 in district and moved
into a tie for first in the 4-3A standings on Saturday thanks to Pecos' 9-8
victory at home over Monahans.

The victory also put Pecos one game ahead of Kermit and Presidio in the
race for the third and final district playoff berth. Monahans and Greenwood
already have clinched playoff spots, but the Eagles could catch one of those
two teams for second place, while at the same time, the Eagles could still
be caught by either the Jackets or the Blue Devils, who will host Pecos
to close out regular season play on Friday. Greenwood hosts Monahans in
their final regular season contest.

The low point of the Eagles' 2003 season probably came in their first
meeting against the Rangers. Pecos jumped out to a 9-0 lead after 11/2 innings
back on April 1, only to see Greenwood rally for a 13-11 victory. Jose Reyes'
control problems helped Greenwood cut the lead to 9-6 in the fourth inning,
and then the Rangers used three Pecos errors to score seven times in the
sixth inning for the win. Shane Moody's two run triple scored the eventual
winning run, and he then scored the final run on a passed ball.

Barney Rodriguez ended up taking the loss in relief, while Ryan Bruno
got the victory in relief of starter Adam Banda. Rodriguez, who has struggled
at the start of most of his appearances this season, picked up the victory
last Thursday at Fort Stockton, by an 8-5 score, and figures to be the starter
again tonight.

The Eagles fell behind 3-0 in the first inning of that game, and were
behind by a 3-0 score after the first half inning of Saturday's game against
Monahans and by a 4-0 score in their 15-5 win over Kermit, which began Pecos'
current three-game win streak. The Eagles would rally to take 4-3 and then
7-4 leads on Monahans, before scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh
inning, after solo home runs by the Loboes in the top of the seventh had
given them an 8-7 lead.